Why NFL fans think 'script writers' predicted Super Bowl 60 matchup with preseason graphic

Dan Treacy

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Why NFL fans think 'script writers' predicted Super Bowl 60 matchup with preseason graphic image

For a few years, there existed a conspiracy theory that the colors of the Super Bowl logo predicted which two teams would play for the Lombardi Trophy.

Well, that one is out, and a new theory is in.

Some NFL fans believe a preseason graphic the league posted to its social media accounts actually predicted the seemingly unpredictable Super Bowl 60 matchup between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, two teams that hadn't won a playoff game since 2019 before this season.

Here's a look at the graphic behind the NFL's newest "script writer" conspiracy theory.

MORE: Super Bowl 60 odds, spread as Seahawks open as favorites

Super Bowl 60 conspiracy theory, explained

After the Patriots and Seahawks punched their ticket to the Super Bowl, fans started to notice which two quarterbacks seem to be closer to the giant Lombardi Trophy than the rest in this graphic posted by the NFL on the first day of the regular season:

A closer inspection reveals you can make the case Baker Mayfield was actually closer than Darnold, or that Travis Hunter seems to be the closest to the trophy. 

This is no time for facts, though. NFL fans have unearthed the latest grand Super Bowl conspiracy, and it's true that Maye and Darnold were both front and center in relation to the Lombardi Trophy in the graphic just as they are in reality today.

"They really gave us the script in September," the lead Drake Maye fan account tweeted Sunday night.

Another look at the graphic reveals the NFL probably believed a Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl was enormously unlikely. The sport's biggest names are front-and-center, from Saquon Barkley and Patrick Mahomes to Brock Purdy and Joe Burrow. Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen are also closer to Mahomes and Barkley than they are to Maye and Darnold in the distance.

NFL vice president of communications Brian McCarthy responded to the jokes on Monday, tweeting, "Re: the 'controversy' over this image - no."

Considering players from the Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Giants and Tennessee Titans are standing nearly shoulder-to-shoulder with Maye and Darnold in the distance, it seems more like the league discounted the Patriots and Seahawks than predicted their Super Bowl 60 meeting.

Why let the finer details get in the way of a good conspiracy theory, though?

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